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Despite sustained international pressure, the Kurdish regional government in Iraq held the its first-ever vote on independence. Celebrations took place across the official Kurdish region - away from the central Iraqi government. 32 million Kurdish people occupy a region across Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran - but do not have their own country. 6 million of them live Iraq. But controversy arose when it was announced that the vote wouldn’t just include the semi-autonomous Kurdish region but also the oil-rich disputed areas- claimed by both the federal and regional government.

VICE News was on the ground in Erbil and spoke to Kurds as they cast their vote with the whole world watching.